Subaru Ambitious Sell 600,000 Electric Cars Every Year Starting 2030

JAKARTA - A Japanese car manufacturer, Subaru, announced its plans to sell 600,000 battery-powered electric cars annually starting in 2030. This step was taken with the aim of making electric cars contribute 50% of the global sales target of Subaru. This ambitious plan was announced by Subaru on Wednesday, August 2.

Subaru also plans to invest around 1.5 trillion yen (about 10.51 billion US dollars) ahead of the start of the next decade for the electrification process.

"The next five years until 2028 is a very important period for us to achieve these goals," said Atsushi Osaki, CEO of the company.

Previously, Subaru intended for battery and hybrid electric cars to account for at least two-fifth of the total annual global sales estimated at around 1.2 million vehicles by 2030.

The manufacturer, known through the Outback crossover, plans to sell 400,000 electric cars in the United States by 2028. They also plan to expand their electric car lineup to eight models by the end of the same year.

Currently, Subaru has produced its first mass electric car, namely Solterra, at Toyota's Motomachi factory. They plan to present three new electric car models by the end of 2026 and four additional models by the end of 2028.

With this new target, Subaru, known for its dependence on the North American market, is following in the footsteps of larger Japanese automakers such as Toyota in intensifying its electrification efforts.

Toyota, as the world's largest automaker by sales, has designed a strategy in June to compete better in the global electric car market. The plan includes supply chain reshuffle and battery development to increase car travel distance.

Subaru, whose shares are part of Toyota's holdings, is likely to start production of electric cars in the United States sometime in 2027 or 2028, Osaki said. This decision is influenced by the extent to which consumers in the United States turn to electric cars.